Every year around this time, we put out an ‘all-arts’ issue. That’s right, page after page of articles devoted to arts and entertainment coverage. Every year, we wring our hands and gnash our teeth, fretting over reams of unedited copy and piles of photos, trying to figure out how to fill an entire issue of the paper that usually contains content from four sections other than ours.
But as nerve-wracking as putting together the All-Arts issue might be, it’s also an incredible opportunity to showcase the writing and photography of our dedicated volunteers, and turn the spotlight on a wide cross-section of arts-related issues in an in-depth and creative manner that’s not always possible in the rush of our twice-weekly publishing schedule.
What’s great about being an Arts editor at the Varsity is that our focus spans everything from internationally renowned trendsetters to local upstarts on campus and in the community. The really exciting part is when something we’ve covered as a local story explodes under the national or international lens, a trend we’ve been happy to see occurring with increasing frequency and magnitude. Our city is developing as one of the most engaging cities for artists to live and work in.
From rebel rocker/writer Maggie MacDonald to the arts-not-ads activists of the Toronto Public Space Committee, in this issue we profile some of the creative individuals and groups that help make our city more vibrant.
Toronto’s arts scene is among the most vibrant and progressive in the world, and it’s exciting to note how this new vanguard of art is not just limited to any one particular genre. On our own campus alone, there are thousands of talented people busily pursuing their own creative projects of all sorts. At the Varsity it is our job-and indeed, our pleasure-to explore and promote these endeavours alongside the work of national and international artists. It is our hope, and in many ways our goal, to help great campus talent reach new heights.
Editing the arts section of the Varsity may be hard work, but it’s also a labour of love-every week, we strive to fill our pages with stories about artists and art that we think deserves to be noticed, and that often goes uncovered by the mainstream media. The All-Arts issue is an extension of that mandate, and a manifestation of all that’s great about the Varsity’s arts and entertainment section. We hope the stories in these pages will turn you onto the new faces, places, and spaces that are making home a more artistic place to be.
Tabassum Siddiqui, ARTS EDITOR
Jordan Bimm, ASSOCIATE ARTS EDITOR
